Last updated on June 24th, 2024 at 10:12 pm
June 16, 2024
Here is the best thing I heard (What?), saw (Eye.), and read (Read.) this week, as well as the best idea (💡) I developed.
What?
- [Sarah Jane Weaver] “As a writer, I think most people can write one great sacrament meeting talk, they can write one great column. It starts to feel a little different when you do it every single week. You use up some of the things, you have to stretch yourself, you have to start researching. How have you gotten ideas? And how has this felt like an opportunity to extend your classroom, extend your ministry, and not feel like this burden, like, ‘Oh, I have to get one of those written’?
[Lloyd Newell] “I think because I’ve done it so long, it’s now just part of my schedule and part of my life. My antenna is raised — same with my wife and my children, even — that because my antenna is raised, I’m always listening, looking, reading for ideas. And so I read the newspaper, and I find an idea or two about a future Spoken Word. I go to church on Sunday, and someone gives a talk or shares a testimony, and I think, ‘OK, that’s a Spoken Word there.’ I talk to people everywhere I go. I’m looking, searching, listening for a Spoken Word idea. And I read a lot, where I get ideas as well.
“So the ideas have never really been a problem, because ideas are just all around us all the time. Execution has been a challenge at times, as you know, but the ideas are always there. And they’re short — they’re about three minutes, just around three minutes — but each one is a little bit different. As President Hinckley said, each one needs to be an inspirational gem. So I’ve probably given over the years, I don’t know, 200 messages on love, but each one’s different. I’ve probably given 200 messages on hope, and each one is a little bit different. So they each need to be different.
“They’re also nondenominational because I’m speaking to a worldwide audience, and we want to connect with people in a universal theme about timeless truths, the everlasting things. So to have that opportunity to be thinking on a consistent, regular basis about what would be an insightful, inspirational gem, what would make a difference in a person’s life. And I can tell you they’ve made a difference in my life.
“When I think about what my life, what our life, would be without this weekly responsibility, I’m not sure it would be the same, because it’s changed me as I’ve searched for, as I’ve looked for research, thought about, prayed about ideas to share with our audience. And very often, some of the very best ideas that I think I’ve come up with have been in the middle of the night, where 2 o’clock in the morning, in my mind, I’m thinking about this as a Spoken Word for two weeks from now. And the ideas are always coming.”
Eye.
The Chosen: Season 4 Episode 4: 30:42-34:18:
- [Jesus] “You remember when it was just the three of us? Do you ever miss those days?
[Thaddeus] “Well, I could say we did get to spend more time with you. But to wish that others would not get this gift by joining us also…
[Little James] “It would be selfish.
[Thaddeus] “Feels like a lifetime ago.
[Jesus] “One we can’t go back to. … The time has come. Things will no longer be simple.” - How I yearn for my relationship with the Savior to be as intimate as the relationship He shared with His twelve apostles during His mortal ministry.
Read.
“Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things” by Adam Grant:
- “Although filling our homes with books might be a start, psychologists find that it’s not enough. If we want our kids to enjoy reading, we need to make books part of their lives. That involves talking about books during meals and car rides, visiting libraries or bookstores, giving books as gifts, and letting them see us read. Children pay attention to our attention: where we focus tells them what we prize.
“When my daughter Elena was in kindergarten, she asked why I didn’t read books. My shelves were overflowing with books. How could she think a writer wouldn’t read? That’s like an actor not watching movies or a painter refusing to set foot in a museum. Then I realized why she’d never seen me tear through a novel: I did my reading in bed after she was asleep.
“The next night, I told her it was time for us to start reading the first Harry Potter book together. Her older sister joined in, and taking turns every few pages, we read the entire book out loud. Fast-forward a few years, and our kids have created a family book club. When they discover a series they love, my wife, Allison, and I read it and talk about it with them. One night, over an hour past their bedtimes, I caught all three of our kids with their lamps on – they were sneaking extra reading time in. I could barely contain my delight.
“Reading is a gateway to opportunity: it opens the door for children to keep learning. …
“One of the great failings of English and literature classes is forcing students to slog through the ‘classics’ rather than giving them the opportunity to choose books that pique their interest. Research reveals that when students get to pick their own books and read in class, they become more passionate about reading. It’s a virtuous cycle: the more they read for fun, the better they get and the more they like it. And the more they like it, the more they learn – and the better they perform on exams. A teacher’s task is not to ensure that students have read the literary canons. It’s to kindle excitement about reading. …
“Interest is amplified when we have the opportunity to choose what we learn and share it with others. Intrinsic motivation is contagious. When students talk about the books that light up their imaginations, it crystallizes why they love them – and gives others the chance to catch that enthusiasm.” - Idea: I could work with my family to create a “family book club”, but we could also involve our children’s four grandparents and even their aunts, uncles, and cousins.
💡
Two ideas about discipleship:
- Truth should draw us nearer to Jesus Christ. If what we’re learning is distancing us from our Savior, then it’s either not true, or we’re interpreting that learning incorrectly.
- “The natural man is an enemy to God” (see Mosiah 3:19) and emphasizes self over Jesus Christ. To be a friend to God – the opposite of the “natural man” – emphasize Jesus Christ over self.